I
was onboard doing volunteer work on April 30th and, as promised, on these
three pages are about 4 dozen photos showing some of the progress being
made towards getting Big J ready for her grand opening. My trip to Camden took 2 1/2 hours,
and I arrived at 9:00 am. I was impressed with the organization
of the volunteer operation. Less than 30 minutes after I arrived, I
had been signed in, issued a badge, introduced to a Team Leader and put to
work! My job for the morning, along with about 6 others, was
removing masking paper from areas of the proposed tour route that had been freshly
spray painted over the weekend. In the afternoon I switched jobs and
we applied masking paper to other areas that are scheduled to be painted in the
coming days. Onboard there were volunteers everywhere I went.
They were young, old, sailor, soldier, airman and civilian and everyone
had a dedication
and enthusiasm that was contagious. The last time I was onboard the
ship was in August and at that time I thought it felt like she was
asleep. Well this time, I boarded a ship that is alive again,
humming with activity and on schedule to open in September! I'll
keep my comments short here for now, and close by saying it was a great
experience and I encourage anyone that can volunteer for a day or more to do
so. I'm ready to make the trip again, I just wish I didn't live 160 miles
away. Volunteers are even working on Saturdays now, hope to see you
onboard one Saturday soon! Enjoy the photos.

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Last updated on January 05, 2004.